Tina's Diary

I have a lot of energy being a whippet and all. Usually when mom gets up in the morning to get ready for work she let's us out for a run and potty time in our HUGE back yard. She stands out there and has her coffee and then we must come in so she can shower and get ready for work. This morning grandpa was up (he spends the night with us sometimes) and he messed up mom's routine. It was great. He distracted her when she let us out and she went about her morning routine not realizing we were in the backyard the entire hour it took her to get ready for work. When she starts to leave she usually lets us out one more time...we were already out!!! It was an hour full of fun and wrestling and running and....I think I need a nap now:-)

Mom and dad had to trim my toenails last night and I have to say, I LOVE THAT PEDICURE MACHINE! It is far better laying in bed with mom and dad getting my toes done and my belly rubbed versus going to the vet, standing on that metal table, being put in a head-lock by th evet assistant and having my nails trimmed. Now all I need is someone to feed me treats while dad rubs my tummy and mom trims my toe nails. AHHHHHHH! The sweet life.

So, my sister Austin told everyone about the kittens found under our house earlier this week. Well, I am a little bothered that she didn't tell me to stay away from the mommy kitty b/c she is very protective of her babies. All I wanted to do was get a closer look and maybe play a little! Thanks for the tag to my right eye. Much appreciated. I wonder if mommy kitty is soo mean b/c her owner's don't love her and take care of her as well as my mommy takes care of me, my sisters Austin and Ginger, my brother Braun, my kitty sister Groucho Marx and our fish Avalanche??? Jealous much?

Mom really doesn't like to see me hurt so the cat issue will be dealt with this weekend. It is our backyard and we are allowed to run free and fast without worrying about the neighbor's (jealous) cat bothering us! Back at ya mean kitty!

So, i have been in a really good mood lately b/c the weather has cooled down and it makes me kinda frisky when I go outside. I love to play with my sister Ginger and bite at her feet as we chase each other around the back yard. She catches me sometimes b/c she takes a shortcut and cuts through a big bush. Cheater.

Anyway, I overheard Grandpa telling mom and dad that I was acting like a "devil dog". Cool! I have seen the commercials on TV wherein the Marines are known as "devil dogs". What a wonderful title grandpa has given me. I am so proud to carry on the tradition! Grandpa was in the Marines, Dad was in the Marines and now I think I have been accepted in the Marines.

As you are aware, I am now a Marine. My grandpa was the first to let me know which is only appropriate since he is a retired Marine. Since my entry into service I have been promoted. It all started like this....

Mommy asked Daddy to PLEASE fix the flood light on the back left side of the house so our security cameras have better night vision. Lucky for me and my furry family it was a beautiful weekend so we were able to stay outside with Daddy while he was accomplishing his chore. Even luckier for us there was a problem with the light so it took him a LONG time to get it working. We ran and ran and ran for hours. We even played tackle a few times. Eventually mom came out to see what was taking daddy so long and I decided it was time to show off for her so I stirred up the crew again and when all of them started chasing me (and realize I am REALLY FAST being a Whippet and all) I made a quick maneuver in the opposite direction and stopped "on a dime" behind a tree with a large bush beside it.

Mom was telling grandpa about it later that night and grandpa told me that I had mastered the art of camouflage! Hence, I was promoted to PFC Smith. I understand that to be Private First Class Tina Smith but I overheard Daddy saying it meant Pretty Funny Canine. I think he is just jealous b/c I have advanced in ranking sooo quick.

So daddy is working at night right now and mommy works during the day. For some reason mommy closes the bedroom door when we all go to bed and I am not sure what the point of that is. She thinks she is keeping us from barking and raising he!! when daddy gets home at 2:00 a.m. but it really doesn't help. We hear daddy pulling up the driveway and that is that! We are off the hook! Daddy comes in and lets us out for a "middle of the night tinkle" and then we are all off to sleep again.

Now...when mommy gets up at 5:20 a.m. to go to work she closes the door with daddy still in the room. WHYYYY??? She knows how much I love cuddling with daddy in the bed! She tries to take me in the bathroom with her when she showers (to keep me from scratching on the bedroom door) but that only makes me bark because I am sooo worried about her in that tub. I have been there and it is not fun. I am not sure who forces her to do this every day and I have tried to tell her if she would stay out of the mud there would be less tub time but I don't think she understands.

Anyway, once mom leaves to go to work it's door scratching time. I usually only have to scratch the door for about 10 minutes until daddy gets up to let us in. See, the other dogs just lay there while I scratch the door. I am in charge you know.

The point of this diary entry is to let all moms and dads out there know that there is no reason to close a door. We know you are there and we will get in eventually. Give it up! Love your furry children.

If any of you pawfect friends out there saw my last post you would see that I am not a fan of closed doors. I would like to take this time to specify which closed door I like the least...Glass Doors! See, mommy decided to clean the slinding glass door the other night (me and my furry family drool on it a lot) while we were playing in the back yard. Once she was done she called all of us in. As usual, I was way back in the far back of the far back of the big yard!

She came out on the porch and used that old trick of hers: The shaking of the treat bucket. Works every time I must say! Anyway, I was sooo excited about my treats that I came running really really really fast through the back yard, up on the porch and straight into the kitch...GLASS DOOR!!! Argh that hurt! Mommy was a little worried but I was ok. I have asked her not to clean the sliding glass door anymore or she can simply change it to a wood door on which I will scratch:-)

Oh man! The smells, the smells, the smells, the people, the food, the fun, the smells, the food, the people, the food, the smells, the love, the food, the friends, the love, the smells, the food, the family, the love, the smells, the food...THE NAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanksgiving really wears you out.

Mommy loved on me and talked to me all day while she cooked (I was at her feet the whole time!)

This was my first Holiday with my furever family and I can't even begin to explain how wonderful it was. Thank God for the good people and furanimals in this world!

OMD! Mommy left really early on Saturday morning which confused me b/c she usually likes to sleep in on that day (with me and my furry family). I thought she must have had a vet appointment b/c we have to get up that early when we have a vet appointment. But, surprisingly she returned, let us out in the back yard and once we came back in there was a tree in the floor in our living room. HOW COOL IS THAT???

I immediately decided I needed to practice my Marine tactis so I ran to hide on the other side of the tree only to find that the enemy had put a trap (aka the netting around the tree) out and my back foot got caught in it! Luckily mom was there to free me so I wansn't taken over by enemy forces. Whew! I think I may need some more basic training from my Marine grandpaw.

Mom ended up standing the tree up in a corner but not before I decided to taste it. Not too bad.

The very next day mommy and my human sister Morgan hung all kinds of tasty looking decorations on the tree. Not sure why they hung some of them so high. They know I can't reach all the way up there. Oh well, I will try today while mom and dad are at work and see how that goes. Hope the tree doesn't fall on me:--)